The Beauty in the Diaspora: An Interview with Australia’s N’fa Jones
From murky '70s soul and Afro-Brazilian jazz to the rhythms of Africa, Australian rapper N'fa Jones explores all reaches of sound to expand his eclectic hip-hop.
continental drift
No Place Like ‘Homem’: Rapper Terra Preta Gives Hip-Hop a Brazilian Re-Think
Preta's chancy way with a honeyed melody and the sensual pulse of Afro-Brazilian rhythms calls to mind the vibrant colours of his São Paulo’s coastal ridges; beautiful and exhilarating all at once.
The Riddle in the Middle of Nowhere: Anja Garbarek’s ‘Smiling and Waving’
Impossibly Norwegian in style and substance, Anja Garbarek's Smiling and Waving describes the most ordinary lives lost in the voids of the most extraordinary riddles.
Slice of Life: Sinkane Lives it Up With His Latest Work, ‘Life & Livin It’
Sinkane’s counterintuitive approach to making (and performing) his music forces his roots to show unabashedly in ways that are almost punkishly defiant.
An Italian in New York: Mondo Marcio Gets Fresh
Italy's favourite rapper mines the crates of American '90s hip-hop on his latest work.
Taking the Bitter With the Swede: Adam Tensta’s Moody Hip-Hop Soul
One of Sweden's most outspoken and celebrated rappers returns with an album of eerie hip-hop noir, where the heavy grooves luxuriate in the nebulous fog of despair.
The Veridical Dream: Running on Empty with Etienne Daho
It’s funny how a dream, which has its basis in the intangible unknown and is full of fanciful fabrications, can lead to an indisputable truth. Daho soundtracks such dreams.
As Good As Gold: Lio’s Subversive Euro-Pop
In true Euro-pop fashion, Lio's marriage of risqué innuendo and brightly-coloured pop during the '80s resounded fashionably with the French.
Many Strings to a Fiddle: The (Other)Worldly Sounds of QViolin
An astonishing performer of mixed heritage, Quetzal Guerrero (QViolin) finds a balance between down home earthy blues and the simmering elegance of otherworldly Latin rock.
The Young Turk: Kamufle’s Basement-Deep Hip-Hop
In his full proper debut album, Turkish rapper Kamufle creates brilliant soundscapes that evoke the vibrant and animated colours of graffiti art, where daisy-age hip-hop meets an Eastern sensibility.
Lush Life: The Music of Brazil’s Doris Monteiro
Doris Monteiro, Brazil's "Queen of Radio", offered in 1976 what was perhaps her finest musical declaration with Agora, a now obscure and luxurious treasure of Brazilian pop-delights.
Meditations in Sound: The Jazz Africana of Pharoah Sanders
Exploring the realms of African mysticism, Pharoah Sanders walks an extraordinary path through the hinterland of jazz music's otherworld.